The Red Planet on the Move

A Formula 1 car on track is one of the most compelling sights in sport, its speed down the straight, the grip in corners and the way it stops on a dime are all amazing. However, just getting the cars to the track involves a lot of work on the part of the mechanics and engineers, both on the logistical side and in dealing with the transportation of everything that is required to run the cars at this the highest level of the sport.

To give an idea of the magnitude of the task, Scuderia Ferrari takes 40 sets of rims, a total of 160 wheels and a whole host of paraphernalia and equipment for the mechanics to do their job at each race. For European rounds, the Ferrari Logistics department sends around 25 tonnes of equipment by road. Therefore, in one year, the Formula 1 team from Maranello moves around 585 tonnes of equipment, consisting of 10,000 components that are part of the equipment needed to run the car. Other essential items are a mobile kitchen taken to every round on the Old Continent where the staff use 150 kg of pasta, 90 kg of Parmesan and 40 kg of ham, per weekend.

Apart from the countries staging Formula 1 races, there are many others on the agenda when it comes to GT racing in which Ferrari supports several teams running the 458 car. The Corse Clienti department actually moves dozens of cars and various amounts of freight for each race, sometime more than one taking place over the same weekend, at different venues. Each event demands hundreds of spare parts, including rims, rear wings and front spoilers. On top of that, there’s the vast hospitality area with hundreds of chairs and dozens of tables.

This video gives you an idea of how much work is involved in getting set up efficiently and in orderly fashion when it comes to running a professional motor racing team.